Personal training blog

Britain has most roly poly pooches

Research published this week shows that British dogs are now among the fattest in the world, mirroring a trend among their “coach potato” owners. Four years ago 35% of dogs were overweight now the figure is 50%. Labradors are the most frequent patients at a specialist clinic, some of them are twice the weight they should be. Vets say being overweight can shorten the life of a dog by around 2 years or 20%.

Alex German from Liverpool University who runs a specialist clinic found that some owners over feed their pet with fatty treats such as fast food leftovers, crisps, biscuits, chocolate and chips.

Diesel, a boxer from Poole, is a regular at Pet Fit sessions. His family fed him so many sweet treats that his weight rose to 9st 2lb around double his recommended weight. His owner Suzanne Fox, 56, has now banned the custard cream biscuits that he was given because he can no longer squeeze through the dog flap.

Without long walks, obsessive compulsive behaviours such as spinning around in circles can also emerge. A walk where dogs stop and sniff other dog smells every 2 mins is our equivalent of catching up on Facebook. It can also be a sign of an under-exercises dog.

The obesity problem can be solved – German advocates a strict diet and exercise and says most of his patients lose 25% of their weight after owners are taught to measure out their food portions and increase levels of activity.

At Diets Don’t Work many if our outdoors sessions include dog exercise and rehabilitation, supervised by our mascots Wilson and Ryder.